Ask CPA Trendlines
Now, with smarter search, deeper analysis, more detailed responses (v.2.7).
Now, with smarter search, deeper analysis, more detailed responses (v.2.7).

Lead with the human first and match your expertise to those things that matter.
By Rory Henry
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
The future of advice is not financial, it’s human! It is about helping clients live their best lives.
Instead of emphasizing technical skills such as minimizing taxes, building a portfolio and executing a Roth conversion, our goal is to shift your thinking toward a human-first financial mindset. This approach helps you uncover a person’s entire life. By being attentive to the many aspects of well-being, we can have a transformative impact on our client relationships that goes beyond financials.
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Three questions to ask about each role.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
“Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – these are all crucial steps in the early stages of buildup…” – Jim Collins, “Good to Great”
When Adam and I first started the company, we didn’t have much organizational structure. We didn’t need it. But as the company grew, it became necessary to develop an organizational structure. There’s a great quote by Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” that says, “Without the Organization Chart, confusion, discord and conflict become the order of the day.”
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There are four numbers worth calculating before you decide anything.
By Hitendra Patil
There is a version of the independence story in which the independent firm is the more affordable alternative to the larger private equity-backed firm. That story is worth examining carefully because, in my experience, it rarely ends the way the firm owner hoped.
Competing on price against firms with institutional capital is a long game you cannot win. PE-backed platforms can subsidize below-market pricing during a growth phase in ways that an independent firm’s income statement cannot absorb. If your primary competitive argument is that you cost less, the positioning battle is already lost.
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By Martin Bissett
Connection, community, and trust create opportunities that credentials alone cannot.
Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil |
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Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason and Byron Patrick
Center for Accounting Transformation
In the accounting profession, technical excellence is expected. However, according to the latest episode of Accounting ARC, relationships — not just work product — often determine who grows, who leads, and who thrives.
In a candid and deeply personal conversation, Liz Mason, CPA, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, explore how relationship-building shapes careers, creates opportunity, and provides stability in an unpredictable profession.
MORE Accounting ARC: The Real Problem with AI in Accounting | AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting’s Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech | Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting’s “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn’t a Failure; It’s a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting |
Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, opens the discussion by reflecting on how little emphasis the profession places on teaching interpersonal skills. Patrick, senior product manager for Karbon and co-founder and part-time educator for TB Academy, agrees. “You don’t learn it in college,” he says. “There’s no course on building relationships.”
That gap, they argue, becomes especially obvious early in a professional’s career.